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More and more I am drawn to the white mai tai. Leslie can stop reading now. Tonight I used a full two ounces of lime juice...juice of one lime, as called out by Vic. This is so perfect I am contemplating another (why waste mint?):

Limes are still ten for $1.99. Well more than two ounces of juice tonight, even after I spilled some. It was time to think outside the bottle:

1 1/2 oz Neisson L'esprit

1 1/2 oz W&N

1 oz La Favorite Blanc

3/4 oz Cointreau

3/4 oz orgeat

juice of one lime

I'm not used to relegating La Favorite to a mere modifier, but if it works for the likes of Death&Co I figured it was worth a shot. (Sarcasm possibly intended.) Besides, for some reason, I keep running out of La Favorite.

I was afraid that with the extra orgeat and Cointreau the drink might be too sweet, but it is nicely balanced. Compared to my usual white mai tai the nose is more of butyl rubber -- in that wonderful Martinique rhum way. The only down side is that the subtile W&N dunder is a little lost.

A Mai Tai with a 50:50 mix of Lost Spirits Polynesian-style rum and Clement VSOP, Pierre Ferrand Dry curaçao, homemade coconut orgeat. A little more reasonable than the 100% Polynesian version.

Then a winter take on the Mai Tai with Highland Park 12 as the base spirit, Pierre Ferrand Dry curaçao, homemade coconut orgeat. When I make it again I will skip the simple syrup and go all orgeat on that one (the coconut orgeat is lighter than almond orgeat). There is an interesting affinity between scotch and coconut...

Nothing really, really wrong with this. Though I was surprised the buttery smooth Neisson was so dominant. If I had to find one fault I'd say the drink, as built, was too polite. The solution was a solid pour of my new bottle of Lost Spirits. (No, I didn't measure...and I don't have to.)

In my opinion a non-white mai tai demands a backbone of Guyana style rum. It's not the same without it. Een so, the simple white mai tai remains for me the apotheosis of the drink.

That was pretty amazing. The Denizen was designed for Mai Tais and it certainly delivers. The Clement Select Barrel is just meh for me on its own (too smooth for agricole) but it works great here adding deep oak notes. And the Polynesian-style rum adds tropical notes with crazy esters.

My case of orgeat came today, and it's a white mai tai for me tonight. Just in time ordering as I killed the last of the last bottle. In my enthusiasm I subsequently over poured the orgeat and then had to compensate. The result is somewhat stronger than I am used to but perfectly balanced with a blue straw and a beautiful stem of mint.

I have been going back and forth tonight. What I want to know is do most folks strain their lime juice or not? I have always taken the trouble to strain my lime juice for a mai tai. But, you know, I can't say it makes a difference.

And I can pretend lime pulp is good for one.

Unfortunately there are only so many experiments I can make in a short space of time.

I have been going back and forth tonight. What I want to know is do most folks strain their lime juice or not? I have always taken the trouble to strain my lime juice for a mai tai. But, you know, I can't say it makes a difference.

And I can pretend lime pulp is good for one.

Unfortunately there are only so many experiments I can make in a short space of time.

At home I never strain my citrus juices. At the bar, always. I think my big Hamilton Beach juicer for the bar presses more pulp out than my hand-squeezer, in any case.

I don't strain on the front end (i.e., the juices separately) but I tend to double strain everything after I've mixed when pouring into a glass. I guess some tiki classic recipes call for shaking with the crushed ice and then dumping it all in a glass, but I can never get the ice:liquid ratio right and end up with too much or too little ice. Easier for me to fill the glass with the right amount of crushed ice and strain the drink over it.

I'm with Jo on this. In a Tiki style drink I wouldn't bother to strain the juice unless it was from a multi-purpose batch of juice that's already strained. All that crushed ice, who cares about a shred of pulp.

I have been rethinking this whole issue. The past couple days my Baron shaker has been clogged with brownish used lime gunk, and the contents don't pour out.

Last night was not a mai tai. It was a zombie for which I did indeed strain the juices. Nonetheless I still could not get the drink into the glass due to the remaining mai tai residue. Either I have to wash the shaker after each use or go back to pre-straining limes. Which I'd just as soon not do at least till warmer weather. My hands can't take it. Making the aforesaid zombie I thought I had spilled some grenadine. I hoped I had spilled the grenadine. But no.

Anyhow, tonight's white mai tai is a little different. Instead of half La Favorite and half W&N, I used equal parts La Favorite, W&N, and l'Esprit. Not bad, but I think I still prefer the former.

Rather than Lemon Hart, you should find a way to work some Martinique rum in there! I typically use Neisson Reserve Speciale in a brown mai tai and La Favorite in a white mai tai. (It's a good thing I can't afford the older Neisson expressions.)

I'm finishing up the remains of a white mai tai at the moment and wondering what's next.

I know it's not all that tiki-like but I prefer plain drinking vessels for my mai tai. This one is 16 ounces. And remember, straw color is important.

Rather than Lemon Hart, you should find a way to work some Martinique rum in there! I typically use Neisson Reserve Speciale . . . .

Not at the prices I'm seeing!

Been using my old fashioned glasses for mai tais. Too small. It may not be traditional, but I think until I get proper mai tai vessels, I am actually going to use our julep cups. They seem to perform well enough with crushed ice and mint garnishes in other contexts.

Been using my old fashioned glasses for mai tais. Too small. It may not be traditional, but I think until I get proper mai tai vessels, I am actually going to use our julep cups. They seem to perform well enough with crushed ice and mint garnishes in other contexts.

I use a 12 oz (or rather, 330ml or something) Duralex Picardie glass for mai tais and other crushed ice drinks. Not traditional but it's the right size. A julep cup would work nicely, I think.

Edit: since I can't edit -- and now I have the hiccups. This is horrible.

A little late, but have you tried the trick in the Joy Of Mixology book? Take a lemon or lime wedge, dash it with Angostura, put it between your teeth and suck - hiccups are gone! Worked for my GF and I thought it might be the power of suggestion, but then I did it a few weeks later and it really works.

Thoughts - the rum is nice, but the Clément strikes me as being a bit too dry for this - I pretty much always do half and half orgeat: curaçao, and this is a very dry, almost thin tasting drink. Maybe a bit less ice and a dash of Demerara syrup might make it better. Maybe it was an exceptionally tart lime. Who knows.

Thoughts - the rum is nice, but the Clément strikes me as being a bit too dry for this - I pretty much always do half and half orgeat: curaçao, and this is a very dry, almost thin tasting drink. Maybe a bit less ice and a dash of Demerara syrup might make it better. Maybe it was an exceptionally tart lime. Who knows.

Tonight I tried leaving the Lost Spirits Navy Style out of my mai tai and replacing it with an extra ounce of S&C. I found the drink was lacking body, so I stirred in a pour of Lost Spirits with no regrets.